Bottle carrier

ABSTRACT

A bottle carrier in which a base member is provided with a plurality of slots for receiving bottles, with handle means being provided on the base member and movable relative thereto between an inoperative position in which the bottles may be inserted into the slots, and an operative position in which the bottles are retained in the slots.

United States Patent [191 Kwak I 1 Apr. 16, 1974 1 BOTTLE CARRIER [76] lnventor: Won 11 Kwak, No. 8, 2 ka,

Yongsan-dong, Seoul, South Korea [22] Filed: July 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 275,952

[52] US. Cl 224/45 BA, 294/8722 [51] Int. Cl B65d 9/00 [58] Field of Search 224/45 BA, 45 AA, 45 AB,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,330,699 9/1943 Flamm 224/45 BA 2,697,628 12/1954 Burke et al... 294/8726 2,604,354 7/1952 Gray 224/45 AA 2,363,950 11/1944 Fearon 294/8722 2,841,435 7/1958 Rochon 294/8728 2,386,859 10/1945 Hutaff, .lr 294/8722 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,181,153 12/1957 France 294/8726 Primary ExaminerRobert J. Spar Assistant ExaminerKenneth Noland Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lane, Aitken, Dunner & Ziems 57 ABSTRACT A bottle carrier in which a base member is provided with a plurality of slots for receiving bottles, with handle means being provided on the base member and movable relative thereto between an inoperative position in which the bottles may be inserted into the slots, and an operative position in which the bottles are retained in the slots.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 BOTTLE CARRIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I handle is provided.

Other types of bottle carriers having handles suffer from the fact that the bottles arenot retained in the openings formed in the carriers and therefore can easily fall therefrom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bottle carrier which is adapted to attain two positions one in which the bottles may be easily inserted into a plurality of slots, and the other in which handles are formed while the bottles are retained in the slots.

' Toward the fulfillment of this and other objects, the bottle carrier of the present invention comprises a base member having a plurality of slots for receiving bottles, handle means on said base member and movable relative thereto between an inoperative and operative position, and retaining means on said handle means for permitting entry of a portion of each of said bottle in a corresponding slot when said handle means is in said inoperative position and for retaining said bottles in said slots when said handle means is in said operative position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The bottle carrier of the present invention is shown in FIG. I of the drawings, and comprises a base member substantially rectangular in shape and having a plurality of flap members 12 and 14 connected thereto along a pair of score lines 16 and 18, respectively,

which are of a reducedthickness in order to permit pivotal movement of the flap members relative to the base member.

A plurality of open ended elongated slots 20 are formed in the base member 10 and are coextensive with a plurality of slots 22 formed in the flap member 12, with the slots 22 being of a greater width than the slots 20 for reasons that will be explained in detail later.

Three substantially U-shaped members 24 are affixed to the flap member 12 with the base portions of the members 24 extending over the slots 22 in a spaced relation thereto. In the inoperative, collapsed position of the carrier as shown in FIG. 1, the members 24 are immediately adjacent the slots 20 of the base member 10.

A pair of elongated openings 26 and 28 are formed through the flap members 12 and 14, respectively, to enable the carrier to be gripped.

A pair of projecting pins 30 extend from the upper surface of the flap member 14 as viewed in FIG. 1 and are adapted to engage in a plurality of corresponding shaped openings 32 formed in the flap member 12.

As shown in FIG. 2 the slots 20 formed in the base member 10 are of a width slightly greater than the width of the neck portion of a bottle 40 to be carried, but less than the diameter of the bottle cap 42.

In operation, each bottle 40 is inserted into its respective slot 20 by initially passing the bottle cap 42 through the slot 22 and sliding the bottle into the corresponding slot 20 whereby it is retained from a vertical movement due to the cap 42 engaging the upper surface of the base member 12.

The flap members 12 and 14 are then pivoted upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 3 whereby the pins 30 engage in the openings 32 to lock the flap members together. As a result of this movement, the bars 24 abut against the bottle caps 42 to retain them from horizontal movement in the slots 20 and thus secure the bottle relative to the base member 12.

It is noted from FIG. 3 that the walls forming the slots 20 are contoured so as to substantially correspond in shape to the neck portion of the bottle 40 thereby further minimizing movement of the bottles relative to the base member 10.

The bottle carrier of the present invention can be easily manufactured by a stamping process or the like of any compatible material such as plastic or cardboard. Of course, the number of slots therein, and therfore the number of bottles that can be accommodated, can be varied in accordance with particular requirements.

Of course, other variations of the specific construction and arrangement of the bottle carrier disclosed above can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A bottle carrier, comprising: a base member having a plurality of slots for receiving bottles; at least one flap member integral with said base member and movable relative thereto between an inoperative and operative position, said flap member having a plurality of slots formed therein which are larger than and coextensive with the slots formed in said base member, said flap member being coplanar with said base member in the inoperative position and extending at an angle to said base member in the operative position; and plurality of bars connected to said flap member, said bars being adjacent said slots in said inoperative position and extending over said slots in said operative position thereby permitting entry of a portion of each of said bottle in a corresponding slot when said flap member is in said inoperative position and for retaining said bottles in said slots when said flap member is in said operative position.

through said latter slot. 

1. A bottle carrier, comprising: a base member having a plurality of slots for receiving bottles; at least one flap member integral with said base member and movable relative thereto between an inoperative and operative position, said flap member having a plurality of slots formed therein which are larger than and coextensive with the slots formed in said base member, said flap member being coplanar with said base member in the inoperative position and extending at an angle to said base member in the operative position; and a plurality of bars connected to said flap member, said bars being adjacent said slots in said inoperative position and extending over said slots in said operative position thereby permitting entry of a portion of each of said bottle in a corresponding slot when said flap member is in said inoperative position and for retaining said bottles in said slots when said flap member is in said operative position.
 2. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the base portion of each of said bars is spaced from its corresponding slot in said flap member to permit passage of said bottle cap through said latter slot. 